trust-systems-meta-model

GTR GRID/DIA Crosswalk

This crosswalk maps the Global Trust Registry, Global Registrar Information Directory, and Digital Identity Anchor vocabulary into TSMM primitives. It is designed to support implementation planning, governance review, assurance design, and future conformance testing.

Executive summary

GTR is best modeled as a layered trust system:

1. Governance layer: defines participation, eligibility, standards, operating rules, and dispute paths.
2. Authority layer: identifies which registrars are legally authoritative for which registers and jurisdictions.
3. Discovery layer: publishes GRID records so verifiers can find registrar metadata, keys, endpoints, and status.
4. Credential layer: allows Authoritative Registrars to issue Digital Identity Anchors.
5. Verification layer: allows relying parties to evaluate GRID and DIA evidence.
6. Effect layer: admits, blocks, downgrades, warns, or routes business actions for review.

TSMM gives this stack a consistent grammar: entity, role, authority, policy, evidence, lifecycle state, verification, trust decision, and effect.

Concept crosswalk

GTR / GRID / DIA concept	TSMM primitive	Binding strength	Governance meaning	Technical implication
Global Trust Registry	TrustDomain	Approximate	Ecosystem boundary for cross-border registrar discovery and verification	System model root and profile context
Global Registrar Information Directory	TrustRegistry	Approximate	Directory of authoritative registrar trust material	Curated registry with freshness, integrity, and lifecycle controls
GRID Board / administering body	GovernanceAuthority	Approximate	Defines eligibility, technical standards, and participation rules	Policy source and approval authority
Technical Operator	RegistryService	Approximate	Operates infrastructure under delegated mandate	Harvester, release manager, publication service, monitoring service
GRID Harvester	RegistryService	Approximate	Collects and validates registrar metadata	Schema validation, signature validation, release inclusion checks
UN Member State or competent authority	GovernanceAuthority	Composite	Provides or confirms national authority basis	Evidence source for registrar mandate and scope
Authoritative Registrar	Issuer	Composite	Legally responsible body for a register	Credential issuer and metadata publisher within scope
Authoritative Register	TrustRegistry	Approximate	Source register with legal effect under domestic law	External authoritative source, not copied into GRID by default
Register Scheme	Policy	Composite	Bounded identifier scheme or register type	Scope constraint for authority and credential claims
GRID Participant	Issuer / RegistryService	Composite	Admitted participant with obligations	Participant record with lifecycle state and assurance maturity
GRID Record	EvidenceBundle	Composite	Versioned registrar discovery record	Metadata, keys, endpoints, status, history, and release reference
Registrar DID / Issuer DID	EvidenceBundle	Composite	Verification material associated with registrar authority	DID document, key material, method reference, rotation state
Public key	EvidenceBundle	Approximate	Cryptographic evidence for metadata or DIA signatures	Key identifier, status, expiry, compromise flag, rotation path
Digital Identity Anchor	Credential	Approximate	Registrar-issued trust wrapper around legal identity assertions	Verifiable credential with issuer, subject, claims, DID binding, status
Registered Entity	Subject	Approximate	Entity represented by legal registration claims	Credential subject and DID controller
Verifier	Verifier	Approximate	Actor performing technical verification	Signature, status, scope, and freshness checks
Relying party	RelyingParty	Approximate	Actor deciding whether to act on verification result	Applies acceptance policy and records decision receipt
Eligibility criteria	Policy	Approximate	Rules for admission and continued participation	Validation requirements for registrar admission and updates
Lifecycle status	Assessment	Approximate	Active, suspended, withdrawn, revoked, expired, or archived state	Status check required before reliance
DIA verification result	TrustDecision	Approximate	Outcome of evidence and policy evaluation	Allow, deny, warn, downgrade, or review
Business action	Effect	Approximate	Consequence of relying on the decision	Onboarding, payment, shipment, compliance acceptance, or escalation

Authority and delegation model

The key TSMM point is that authority must be bounded.

A registrar may be authoritative for one jurisdiction, one register type, and one class of claims. It should not be treated as globally authoritative for all claims merely because it appears in GRID.

Minimum authority attributes:

Attribute	Required meaning
Authority source	Legal instrument, official designation, or governance approval reference
Authority holder	Registrar or competent public authority
Scope	Register type, jurisdiction, identifier scheme, claim class
Permitted actions	Publish metadata, maintain register, issue DIA, provide status
Lifecycle state	Proposed, active, suspended, withdrawn, revoked, archived
Evidence reference	Document, signed submission, official URL, or release artifact
Revocation semantics	Effect of withdrawal, key compromise, or loss of mandate

Discovery governance model

GRID discovery should be modeled as a governed metadata flow:

Registrar mandate evidence
  -> registrar admission decision
  -> GRID record publication
  -> metadata harvesting and validation
  -> GRID release
  -> verifier discovery
  -> DIA verification decision
  -> relying-party effect

Each step should produce evidence.

DIA verification model

A verifier should not reduce DIA verification to signature validity. A TSMM-compatible DIA verification should check:

1. DIA signature validity.
2. Issuer discovery through GRID.
3. Registrar lifecycle state.
4. Registrar scope for the claim type.
5. Issuer key state and rotation status.
6. Credential expiry and revocation state.
7. GRID record freshness.
8. Relying-party policy for the intended effect.
9. Evidence availability for audit.

Decision receipt model

A decision receipt should capture:

• subject reference,
• requesting actor,
• authority basis,
• policy references,
• evidence references,
• boundary crossed,
• decision outcome,
• effect admission,
• revocation state checked,
• assurance level,
• review path.

See examples/gtr/gtr-dia-verification-decision-receipt.json.

Lifecycle and revocation model

A GTR lifecycle model should cover both registrar state and downstream reliance behavior.

Trigger	State change	Relying-party consequence
Registrar approved	Proposed to active	GRID entry can be used for discovery
Signed metadata accepted	Active to active with new evidence	Verifiers use new release and key material
Metadata stale	Active to suspended or review	New decisions warn or route to review
Key compromise	Active to suspended	New DIA verification should deny or review
Authority withdrawn	Active to revoked	New reliance should be blocked
Participant withdrawal	Active to withdrawn or revoked	GRID removes active discoverability
Credential expiry	Active credential to expired	DIA should not admit new effect
Revocation notice	Active credential to revoked	New reliance should be denied

Testing implications

A future GTR conformance profile can test:

• registrar admission records include authority evidence and scope,
• GRID records include lifecycle state and verification material,
• metadata publication has integrity evidence,
• stale or unverifiable records produce defined failure behavior,
• DIA verification checks issuer authority and not only credential signature,
• decision receipts are produced for relying-party effects,
• suspension and revocation change downstream decision outcomes,
• archived releases remain available for evidence reconstruction.

Prohibited shortcuts

The following are explicitly out of scope for the TSMM interpretation:

• treating GRID recognition as general certification,
• treating signature validation as sufficient reliance,
• treating the GRID operator as controller of national register data,
• assuming a DIA changes the legal status of the subject,
• allowing cached discovery material to admit high-impact effects without freshness checks.

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